Combination welding and cutting torch



July l-9, 1949.

E. H. SMITH COMBINATION WELDING AND CUTTING TORCH Filed 0G13. l, 1945 mv 7mm.. 5 n* .am m, baarn .s www Vlg Vffffff 1N VEN TOR. ELMER H. SM/TH Aw-ToRNsv/s Patented July 19, 1949 UNITED Simfree 2,476,777 n Y CoMBINATIoNyvELDnvGAD Volii"rfrlvor TORCH I 8`Claims. l n

This invention relates Ato new vand-*usefull*improvements in combinationv Weldingiandcuttiig torches, and more particularly tothe connecting means between the torchfheaoland tio'porti'on.

Combination Welding I'and Jcutting torchesj asf-is well known, utilize a--suitable 'fuel gas andahigh pressine oxygen; the latter being ne'oessaryto produce a cutting'jflame. `1In,such'combination torches tvvo tip' assemblies are 'selectively' utilized, one being coninl'onlvreferred' lto by the; tradeas a cutting assembly andthe ,other as aweldingtip. When the torchis tobe'iusedior cutting, the cutting assemblyfis vused "which :requires adiow of high pressure 'oxygen' tog'procluce theV necessary cutting flame. Means lmust therefol'e'beprovided for interchangeably,,securing fthe tip' assemblies to the head of fthe torch body orhandleinlsuch a manner thatitheiloan .be nodangerof leakage between the fuel vgas and Voxygen passagesof' a cutting assembly, Whensuch an' assembly Iislbeing used, which Y`heretoirej ,has "been 'i a ",diflicult problem. I

It is therefore anobject ofthepresent invention to provide a combination 'weldingand cutting torch provided 'withajnovel coupling devicef'or interchangeably sec'ziuring'f 'thejvvelding and 'cutting tips to the torchhead,lvvhichd'eviceis so vofenstructed as to positivelyprev'entianyfleakage of sages, When vthe torch islused asia cuttngtOrCh.

A further and more .specic'object is Y'to-'provide a uniquecouplihgldevice fordetajch'ably Ysecuring a ltip t a' torchfh'ead; 'Which device comprises axially spacedf'a'ces.adapted to'lfeiigagelxially one of said facesbing` axially 'movableirelative to the other,,thei'eby ,'to ,assurejthatifsaid f'aces sealing engagement ofjthespced faces Witli'their respective seats. H

A further objectfisftoprovide a "rrovel 'coupling engagea Vseatfn ,the torchh'ead, and said tubular body havingfan "ehlaligd', axaljboi'ef at duelend Y a compressible,elemhtllecirlngsaid 'tubular ntly when the coupling device is secured 'inthe-torch head, the head of vsaid memberwill engage its vveldiiigE-and duttinglftorcli comprising a coup-ling role'vice;for iiiteiehangeablywsecurngi a' plurality 1l spacedff-ac'es adaptedfto pl ality'fpf `"spaced seats protlionebf said faces'ior ypert- 'thereof relative to the assurepositive leakprozof f saidiajes`-with ftheir' respective seats* When-tithe"tipassembly ssecuredto the toren head. l

j assemblies"piovieeryvth ly be interchangeably se dass described; a multiplica soarranged andielateoio ne another phaewhen l' A further `object is"t0"1`Jr'oV-ide a`v smplejinexpensive device for'quicklysecuring or coupling a 'ngftip to a torch embled 'as' a vcom- Iiieansfor quickly y; and whereby-tip Chi' dei/ 19ers 'may 'quicked to' 1 the torchj head. de in a torch ofthe yof l'gas tight'fseals 'plebeuniiarysoiicwriha ngi securite it to eine asse' A furtherobjectlis't a `tip assembly is svecuijed ,in Lthe `torch head, said Yseals Will positively prevent; leakage jbetween 1 the fhightarl IOW res'ilre gases'jnassine'throushgthe ndlofvjthe tip assembly its 'moi/.al therefrom,

-, imamA 'of ,time

' ,other :our 'esj residegm the; simple and; inext, njlofltheim/,enton'whihcomae'mairijwbfwhich-ar "ic'yun- `sage 4 Ifwhicircommfunicates.'atienelendwithithe ibore or cham-bern If ofszthe .torch riieadr` andfits z oppositefende is'zin'fcommunication `with-aV kcentral .passagev-AZ rsextendingtfrom'xthebottomfof the :-y guide:bore.1i34:-.to the-,opposite endlofilthetubular body :25 ='of :the :iconpiing`v device. eAnother duct -ili3r'is shown providedfinftheibody :offthe cou- :plingdevice': forzconducting fueliorbxlow'pressure rgas from thesrannuianrchamberi,'24'1zthroughrnthe :coupling:fdeviceztoatheitipxassemblynas awillsub .ffsequentiyherdescribed.

f4.5 2 and"ltheiitorclzheadisrfor conducting Ahighvpressure:oxygenfrom thei'c'entral passage 42 of the couplingsd'evice' toifthe tip'lllili-tltlrou'gh'A a' suitaibleI valvepfgenerallyiindicated by' the :numerali 5 l ishown: provided v:withfialsuitableoperating -lever .52. :The fuelrgaszpasses fromfthe'rductlla lin vvthe coupling.y device throughadu'ct' l'in fthe tip butt 45 to a tubular member 54 which conducts the .fuel gas.totheiusual-preheatingoces provided 1in -the .torch 'tipi-119; notfshowrrlin zthe S drawings. They "fuel '-'mixture'deliverdlfto' the Ypreheating foriceszis.: composed :of tmeasurced fquantities of ffuel :gas zand oxygen, #and oxygen Y1issupplied "thereto ffrom a conduit55,*showrr'fdisposed with- `in the tubular member 5'4landwhihfhas'one end Vcommunicating f-with-afvalve 55'for regulating the i supplyfof'oxygen to vthe Itip. "-"Thefcutting assembly is "welliknownni the ia1"i1"^a1'1d' :it is Ytherefore yth'ought 'unnecessary 'fto `"further *describe it in detail.

Another feature'ff the inventionresides inf enclosing the tcompres'sible @lement-31' 7within 'the :tubular i cylindrical 'erid'fportion 2 of the: body 'of the coupling device 25, whereby it cannotdir'ectly -contact :the '-Wa'll `ofv the relativelv'larger' 'bore 9. It will'alsofbeinoted by referencetof'Figures' `1 land i2 y'that the -outsidediameterof "the cylindrical portion` 32fo'fL the coupling f'device' AV"is'sli'f,ili`tly less fthan the 'f'diameter frthe `fbore"'' 9; whereby `when iti-is-desiredto remove thecuttingessembly from 1 the `torchhead; after thesecuringmutz3 Pis vunvscrewed ffrom the threadedisocket'l in fthe" torch head, the coupling 'deviceamayfreadily"bewith- 'drawn 'from the "torch lheadfas' ithe onlyparts 4thereof xwhich directly-contact theftorch Vhead when the -nutf3l"is detacln'e'cl'l'thererom,` `are the "faces 29"ar'd*136 -of fthe body? 5: and' sealingl mem- A-ber 35, respectively," assumingyo'ff'course, that the f coupling deviceis retained'k i axial alignment with thetorch'hea'd. *It ismot'necess'ary to so'retan thef'coupling'device ;in"'the' torch 'head when Vwithdrawing `-it therefrom; aswillbe understood. *In :Figure f3 thecou'p'ling devic'eis `shown independent `of the cutting 'assenfibly '40 vand ltorch v"from `the :torclfhead'iasishown"inFigure 3, the V"spring v38,'"assiste'd'lby*theresiliencyof "theele- "ment 37; willl outwardly-'move' r'the' member 35, whereby 'thefsp'ajcngibetweeni'the'fconicali face '3S v1pling device is'"relativelygreater/ithan *the ldistance' 'Jbetwcen "the iiixedannularseatsv 8 "and 44i 3 I"mithe'torch head. Y*

"Thus,*Whenthecuttingfassenbly' Hitofwhich "fthe couplingfdeviceamaybefsecured, fis-"to pefiatlil) tached to a torch head,thercylindricaben'd'portion 32 of the 'coupling device1--withfthe-sealing -fmembert 5 positioned asf shownf-in-fFigure#3,is

inserted'into the bore 9 'of thetorclrheadwhererupon the face 36 of the-sealing member-35 vwill Vengage the seat' |3- infaolvance off the1facer-2 Siengaging its'seat 8.

The securing nut 3l -is then Atightened-1where- -upon the coupling device`is-forcedfinto thetorch head against the tension ofthe spring 3-8and rebesealingly engaged with its-:seat '13, l'whereby Aleakage ofthe highpressure oxygen-into. theslow qpress'urerfuel'vgas is positively eliminated.

Thus, fby the employment inlrV-asvcombination Welding and cutting torch'of thefnovelf-coupling devicehereindis'closed, it isffimpossible forleak- 'age'ofvhigh pressure gases 'to occurvwithinzthe torch head, and, at'the same time, lthe :t: ofthe coupling device in thetorch head'vis such''th'at the ,particular tip assembly mounted in "fthe torch 'head may readilyand quickly'be-removed therefrom without any difculty'zwhatsoever.

'It will alsobe inotedithat? bymounting thesealy ing' member 35 `for 'reiativei aixial'frnovernentvv with reference to the, xedval've: face f 29tslightyariations in .the spacing ofstheivalve 4:seats "f8 and' l|.3, as a result cf defective .machinrigswill'fhaveno elect upon thelp-roperfseating ofthezfacesfZSsand v36, as the spring 38. andfresili'entxelementf'lwill vcompensate for 'any such lvariation'sfingtheispam .ing between the i two` sealing faces ifandi 36.

kThe resilient elementSl provided'swithin M:the cylindrical end portioni 32=y of the; c'ouplingf device Vis so fttedonto' the cylindricalbodyaof theese'al- :ing 'member 35 and into -the bore f3 3;..prvidedf'in thev end'rportionfs, :that-:when cor'npressed`- thereinyas shown in Figure-2,'its wall is expandedin lbothiinward and outward-directions,ltherebyipositively .preventing leakage fof.' high pressure .gas

from chamber @li along llthe outside of lmei-fiber `'andinto chamber 24.

In `the drawing I yhave shown'rthecouplingzdevice used for detachably securingfai cuttingfassembly to a torch head. When securing-gewelding tip to the torchhead, thecoupling devicefmay be dispensed with, because:inzthe-'operationof a welding torch, rthe pressureof the oxygenfdelivered .to the torchztip from: thefcontrol'valvef'il6 of the torch headfmaybe'reduced tcrsubstantially the pressure required at theend offth'eitip to provide the desired welding haine,iii/hereby thereis little/danger ofileakagebetweentheivarious chambers andpassages'within the torch-head. However, if' desired, the Welding tip Iori assembly may be provided Witha couplingdevice,such"as herein disclosed, whereby themeahs Aforcoifinecting 'or coupling 'weldingland cuttiirgftipfa'ssemblies to atorch head'may 4"be'l'identica1"""in construction.

it' will be "apparent :to-'those skilled 1n- "the art that I have accomplished atleast 'the principal objects of my invention, and it'will also beapparent to those skilled in the art/'thatlthe'mbodirnents herein described "maybewarioiisly changed and modifiedV without departing Vfrom the spiritoi the invention,iand .that the'inven- -tion is 'capable of `uses and hasfadvantagesnot herein tspeciiically described; .hence it Twill "be .ap-

-preciated that Vthe herein -disclosedrernbodiments iaare .illustrative only,;;`anfdf4 thatomy.fini/:entienis 75 'lnotlimiteditheretd I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a body having a chamber therein, means for delivering a pressure fluid toisaid chamber, a seat at one end of the chamber, a device having an enlarged axial bore, a tubular'sealing member mounted in said bore with its periphery spaced from the wall of the bore to provide an annular packing space around the body of the sealing member, guide means in said bore for axially guiding the sealing member therein, said sealing member being adapted to engage said seat when the device is secured inY position in said body, a compressible packing element in the annular space surrounding the tubular sealing member, and means for tightly compressing said compressible packing element in said annular space and urging 'the tubular sealing member into sealing engagement with said seat, thereby to prevent leakage of the pressure fluid from said chamber through the guide means supporting said tubular sealing member.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a body having a chamber therein, means for delivering a high `pressure gas to said chamber, a seat at one end of the chamber, a device having an enlarged axial bore, a tubular sealing member mounted within said bore with its periphery spaced from the Wall or" the bore to provide all annular packing space around the body of the sealing member, guide means in said bore for axially guiding the sealing member therein, said sealing member having a head at one end adapted to engage said seat when the device is secured in position in said body, a compressible packing element in the annular space surrounding the tubular sealing member, and spring means interposed between the compressible packing element and the head on said tubular sealing member adapted to compress said sealing element against the periphery of the body of said tubular sealing member and the wall of said enlarged bore, when the head of the sealing member is forced into sealing engagement With said seat, thereby to prevent leakage of gas from the chamber through the guide means supporting said tubular sealing member.

3. In a device of the class described, a memn ber having a low pressure chamber therein terminating at its inner end in a reduced pressure chamber provided at its open end with an annular'seat, a body having a cylindrical end portion inserted into said low pressure chamber, said cylindrical end portion having an enlarged axial bore terminating at its inner end in a reduced guide bore, a sealing member mounted for axial movement in said enlarged bore and having one end guidingly supported in said guide bore, Ythe diameter of said sealing member being substantially less than the diameter or said en`= larged bore to provide an annular space between the periphery of the sealing member and the Wall of the enlarged bore, the opposite end of'said sealing member being adapted to sealingly engage said seat, a gas passage in said sealing member having one end in communication With the high pressure chamber, a compressible packing element interposed in the annular space surrounding the sealing member, and means for compressing said packing element in said annular space and constantly urging said sealing member into sealing engagement with its seat.

4. In a device of the class described, a member having a 10W pressure chamber therein terminating at its inner end in a reduced pressure chamber provided at its open end with an ane nular seat, a body having a cylindrical end portion inserted into the enlarged chamber, said cylindrical end` portion having an enlarged axial boreterminating at its inner end in a reduced guide bore, a sealing member mounted for axial movement inY said enlarged bore and having one end guidingly supported in said guide bore, the diameter of said sealing member being substantially less than the diameter of said enlarged bore to provide an annular space between the periphery of the sealing member and the wall oi' the enlarged bore, the opposite end of said sealing memberV having a head formed thereon adapted to sealingly engage said seat, a gas passage in said sealing member' having one 'end in communication with the high pressure chamber, a compressible element interposed in the annular space surrounding the sealing member, .and spring means, interposed ,between said compressible element and the head of the sealing member adapted to exert a yielding force on the compressiblc element, when the head of the sealing member engages its seat, thereby to compress said element against'the Walls of said ann nular space lto prevent leakage of gas from the high pressure chamber into the' 10W pressure chamber. Y A i 5. In a device of the class described, an outer enclosing member having axially aligned bores therein of diierent diameters, each vbore having a seat at one end, means Yfor supplying low pressure gas to the larger bore and high pressure gas to the smallerV bore, a body received in said enclosing member and having spaced sealing faces for engaging said seats, and means on said body cooperating with said bores to provide axially aligned lowY and high pressure ga's chambers, one ofv said sealing faces being axially movable ivith respect to the other to assure positive sealmg engagement of ysaid faces With-their respec tive seats, thereby to prevent leakage of gas from the high pressure chamber into theY loW pressure chamber.

6. In a device of the class described, an outer enclosing membeihhaving axially aligned bor .s therein of different diameters, eachebore having a seat at one end, means for supplying 10W pressure gas to the larger bore and high pressure gas to the smaller bore, a body received Vin said enclosing `dmember and having spaced sealing Vfaces for engaging said seats, means on said body cooperating Vwith said bores to provide axially aligned low and high pressure gas chambers, one of said sealing faces being axially movable with respect to the( other, and resilient `means constantly exerting a force on said movable face to retain it in sealing engagement Withits seat, thereby to prevent leakage from the high pres- 60 sure chamber into the low pressure chamber.

'7. In a torch of the class described, a handle portion and-a tip assembly, a head having one end secured -to the handle portion and provided at its opposite end with a socket, an enlarged bore at the bottom of said socket, an annular seat at the -juncture between the socket'and said bore, arelatively smaller bore communicating at one end with said larger bore, and an annular seat at the open end of the smaller bore, means for supplying a fuel-gas to the larger bore and separate means for supplying high pressure oxygen to thesmaller bore, and a coupling device secured to the tip assembly-for-detachably securing the tipassembly to the torch head, where- 75 bythe tip portion may loe-supplied with fuel gas and oxygen from the torch head and handle portion, said coupling device comprising axially spaced sealing faces adapted to engage said seats, and means mounting one of said sealing faces for relative axial movement on the coupling member, whereby 'said faces may sealingly engage their respective seats independently of one another, thereby to prevent leakage of highpressure oxygen into the fuel gas passage.

8. In a torch of the class described, a handle portion and a tip assembly, a head secured to one end of the handle and having an axial bore therein, a relatively smaller bore in communication with the bottom of the larger bore and axially aligned therewith, a seat at the open end of each bore disposed in xed spaced relation, means for supplying fuel gas and high-pressure oxygen respectively to said larger and smaller bores, and a coupling device for detachably securing the tip assembly to the torch head, said coupling device comprising axially spaced sealing faces adapted to engage said seats to prel0 vent leakage of the high pressure gas from the smaller bore into the larger bore, and one of said sealing faces being axially movable with respect to the other to assure seal-tight engagements of said sealing faces with their respective seats. ELMER H. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

